Palantir UK promises it does not sell NHS data
A Palantir UK executive has taken to X to assure the British public that the company is not using or selling sensitive customer data without permission.
UK Senior Vice President at Palantir Technologies Tom Watson said that certain MPs had made false claims about the company and the way it uses data, refuting claims that the surveillance technology and AI analytics company holds custody over its customers’ information.
Palantir is a US data analytics company that delivers technology controversially leveraged in warfare across the world, and it has also delivered solutions within institutions such as the NHS and Metropolitan Police.
The company operates the Federated Data Platform for the NHS, which was established in conjunction with the UK government to consolidate all healthcare data in England onto a single platform, providing the ability to analyse health data on a national level.
It is designed is to help NHS staff make better decisions about patient care and service planning, but some groups have raised concerns over how the confidential information available to this system could result in data-driven abuses of power by both Palantir and the UK government.
“Some MPs make false claims about Palantir, particularly about how we use data,” Watson said on X.
“One MP even claimed that we could use NHS data to sell insights to private healthcare providers. That’s flat-out wrong. False. We don’t do it. We never would.”
“We sell software. We don’t sell our customers’ data or reuse it for our own commercial purposes,” he added.
“The NHS holds the information. Our software helps connect its systems so it can make better use of it.”
Watson said the NHS controls how its data is used and Palantir processes that data according to its instructions, with strict access controls in place to prevent abuse.
While Palantir UK continues to operate the NHS Federated Data Platform, Burnham is reportedly seeking to replace the US firm with a UK alternative, to safeguard the sovereignty of British healthcare data — one of the most valuable datasets in the world.
The current contract with Palantir is set to end in 2027, but it may be extended while the government looks for a home-grown alternative.
Healthcare is not the only area of the UK that Palantir has woven its software into. The company also signed an agreement with the Metropolitan Police to use its AI surveillance to help combat crime in London, but this was blocked by Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Palantir attempted to take City Hall to court to fight his blocking of the deal, but the claims the two parties brought against each other were subsequently dropped.
The Bureau of Investigate Journalism reported this week that former Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick is a paid adviser for Palantir UK. This comes as a £10-million contract was awarded this week for Palantir to supply technology to the Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire Combined Police Forces.
